Battery-indicator.



No. 892,500. PATENTBD JULY '7, 1908.

R. N. CHAMBERLAIN. BATTERY INDICATOR.

APPLICATION IILBD NOV. 11, 1903.

C'canzgergaz'b,

, normal charging rate reaches a certain lasaid to be fully 20, notwithstanding that 26 to reglard a batter R'UFUS CllAllllIliLA l.\', Ui" IJlClliW, NEW YORK, SSIGNOR lO'GOULD STORAGE BATTERY COMPANY, UI" NI'W YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BATTERY-mmcaron. io. 892,500.` Specication o1 Lettera Patent. Patented July 7, 1908` Application led November 11, 1903. Serial No. 180,672.

To all whom it may concern,.-

ABe it known that I,' RUFUs N. CHAMBER- Lam, a citizen of the United States, residing nt De new, in the county of Erie and State of 5 New VOrk, have invented new and useful Improyeinentsin Battery-Indicators, of which the following'is a s ecihcation. This invention re ates to an instrument for ijidicatiriff'the condition of a storage battery, iii' both in'tiliarging and dischar ing.

's It is well know'n to those skilled in the art that the higher the rate 'at which a batter is charged, the greater will be itsV baci' pressure. It is also a fa'ctthat when at' a the back pressure point, thebattery calf be charged, although when the battery is charged at a-higher rate the voltmeter indicates the same point-or pressure .the battery is not fully charged. kSkilled electricians having .knowledge of these facts, make the necessary allowances in chargin at diil'erent rates, but ordinary', uneducate a'tte'r'idants4 are "liable ,as fullycharged before om the above mentioned magnet,- c its {iolepieces and Cl the oscillating coil arrange( between the pole pieces and carrying the pointer.

D is a dynamo or generator, ll a storage battery and l" a series of elect-i ic lamps or any other desired translating device, `such as the iiiotor oan electric automobile, a suitable switch being employed for connecting the battery either with the ilynaino oil the trailslatii'ig devices. In the arrangement shown in the drawing, the poles of the dynamo are connected with the u )per pair of switch contacts d, d', 'the terminals of the translating circuit with the lower pair of contacts f, f, and the poles of Ithe -battery with the intermediate air of contacts e, el, to which latter areversibleswitch lever g of any ordinary construction is pivoted.

7L' is a wire connecting one side of the battery` with the switch contact e; h* ,a wire connecting the other side of the battery with a variable shunt h', `and h a wire extending from the vaiiable shunt to the switch contact e.' The ends of the oscillating eoil Care connected with the wires h and 7i by wires i, 'i2-respectively, so that the same bridges the battery. J indicates an auxiliary or modifying coil wound around the pole 'ieces c and adapted to partly counteract or iminishthe effect of 35 the permanent magnet or main field flux in v charging a battery and to au ment its effect in dischargin the battery. ne. end of this auxiliary coi is connected with the wire il while itsl other end is connected with the wire h, whereby the `variable shunt `?t"cxtends across said coil. This coil is pro erly' wound to produce. the above-mantiene modifying effects.

fact as to the in Itea l he object of my invention is to provide 30 an indicator of this'character-which requires no calculations or allowances to be'rnade in` .g "reading the same, but indicates with cer'- jitainty, especially'to uneducated attendants, ifwhen a battery is properly and fully charged,

35 regardless of varying charging rates within the ordinary limits of-practice, and also to :What extent the battery has been discharged sinservice, irres cctive of varying charging "-1"at`es within suc limits.

it'rea yis, simplyi cations at a normal charg l5 structed 40 -T lbie accompanying drawing is a diagram improved indicator in matic view of my a generator and connection with a battery, a series of electric lamps.

In its preferred formJ the indicator is conup'en the general lines of the well known voltiiretcrs employing a permanent 'in net and an index or pointer carried by a coilgwhich oscillates between the pole pieces Y'Qf the magnet. .Referring to the drawing, which-illustrates gliagrannnatically the preferred construct-ion ,'f the indicator, A is thc segment-al scale of althe instrument and B the. sei-nr.

c indicates the bndy of the permanent Vwith the dynamo.

the pointer traversing In charging the battery, the switch lever g is' turned to the osition shown b f full lines in the drawing .or connecting t e battery The current nonr asses from one pole of the dynamo. throng the wire h, variable shunt h', wire h1, the 'battery and wire h to the other pole of the dynamo, as indicated by the arrows shown in full lines. A portion of the current also passes through the pointer-actuatin coil C andthe modif ing coil J. Both c'os are thus energized and the oscillating coil with the pointer is deflected more or less` according to :the strength of the current, as ,in the standard voltmeters of the tp 'f, While-the suini-a eoi 5 ,partly neutrlizeaoi' connteracts the et of' indicate a higher condition the permanent magnet C and diminishes its power accordingly. The result 'is that the auxiliary coil compensates for the tendency of the pointer of the ordinary voltmeter to indicate a higher condition of charge than actually exists when a battery is char ed at a rate more or less above the normal` The pointer therefore indicates the actual condition of the battery as the same gradually becomes charged, thus requirin no calculations or allowances to be ma e by the (1bserver or attendant. i

It will be understood from the foregoing that the higher the charging current the more the auxiliary coil J becomes energized, an'd vice versa, and the indicatin point at which the battery is fully chargeil thus remains practically stationary under varying charging rates.

When the switch lever g is reversedto the position shown by dotted lines in the drawing for connecting the charged batter With the lamp circuit or other translating evice, the current which now flows from the battory in the reverse direction, passes through the wire t, variable shunt h2 and wire h ln the direction indicated by the. broken arrows in the drawing. The direction of the current through the auxiliary coil J is also reversed, and under these conditions this coil increases the uwer of the permanent magnet or main fielciflux and retards the backward oscillation of`the .movable coil Cl due to the-discharge of the battery. V

In the use of the ordinary voltmeter, when considerable current is tem oraril drawn from the batteryhas in clim ing a ill with an electric automobile, the pointer hasa tende-nc to indicate a lower condition of discharge t 1an actually exists just as ittends to of charge than really exists under a charging rate above the normal. W hen this occurs, the uneducated observer or attendant is liable to conclude that more than the real amount of discharge luis laken place. nient, under the above disc erging conditions the auxiliary coil J by augmenting the .In my `im roved instru-l power of the permanent magnet counteracts or compensates for the tendency of the pointer to indicate a lower condition of discharge than really exists, and the instrument therefore indicates the actual condition of the battery, without requiring any calculation or allowance to be made by the observer.

The variable shunt h is not indispensable, but I prefer to employ the same to permit the power orI modifyin effect of the auxiliary coil to be increased or diminished for meeting different conditions. i y

It will be observed that in each of the embodiments of the invention herein shown and described, means are employed for producing a main field flux for actuating the indicating member B, and means connected with the battery circuit are employed for' producing an auxiliar field' flux which modies the main field ux, the apriliary field-flux aiding or opposing the main field flux according tol the position of the switch g. i

I claim as m invention:

1. The com ination with a storage batand its charging or discharging` circuit,`

ter ofia,rv movable indlcator, a ermanent magnet, a movable actuatin .co for said indicator arranged between tige pole pieces of the magnet andconnected to be responsive to electro-motive-force changes of the battery, and a modifying coil aplplied to said po e pieces and connected wit ,said battery circuit, substantially as set forth.

2. In a batte permanent ma et, a movable actuating coil for said indicating member arranged between the pole pieces ofthe magnet, a modifying coil applied to said pole pieces, and' a' indicator, the combina- .tion with a mova le-indicating member, of a variable shunt arranged across said modifyin coil, substantially as set forth.

lVitn'ess-my hand his 7th dayof November, 1903.

RUF'US N.- CHAMBERLAIN. Witnesses:

' CARL F. Garau,

EMMA. M. GRAHAM. 

